Bucklebury Phone Box in New Calling

A classic English phone box that found fame in the run-up to the royal wedding found a new role as a book exchange.

The old red kiosk in Kate Middleton's home village of Bucklebury featured in scores of television reports as the world prepared for the royal nuptials.

Villagers decided to ring the changes, turning the humble phone box into a book exchange and the Duchess of Cambridge's former piano teacher debuted two songs penned to celebrate.

The sun shone on Union flag bunting as the miniature library was honoured with a grand opening on Sunday.

Around 150 villagers aged between seven and 80-something enjoyed tea, cakes and wine and a two songs to mark the occasion.

Composer and music teacher Daniel Nicholls, who taught Kate, her sister Pippa, brother James and mother Carole, already has a hit under his belt.

He wrote A Song For Kate (And William) as a wedding present for the couple and was rewarded with a letter of thanks from the royals.

His newest efforts, entitled The Ballad of Bucklebury, tell the story of a phone box and the books it now houses.

Residents of the home counties village bought the decommissioned kiosk from BT for the reasonable sum of £1 and transformed it into a book exchange.

To make it even more special, villagers decorated the box with a timeline of Bucklebury events on the panes of glass, from the Middle Ages to the royal wedding.